Songo.info, the education and sporting charity founded by Christoph Sauser in 2008, will once again be represented by some of Specialized Factory Racing’s global superstars at the Absa Cape Epic.
In 2022 the story goes beyond the elite men’s and women’s races, however, as Sauser teams up with his former rival, Karl Platt, to target the NTT Masters’ category and two songo.info graduates pair up for the Exxaro Jersey competition.
Local Stellenbosch riders Ntlantla Nonkasa and Zola Ngxakeni both spent their formative years in the programme and are now proudly racing in the songo.info colours and spearheading the charity’s fundraising drive.
“It’s an honour to race the Absa Cape Epic for songo.info,” Ngxakeni enthused. “I joined songo.info soon after the programme started in 2008, when I was 12 years old. Immediately I was hooked and just wanted to come ride bikes every day after school. Initially the focus of songo.info was just on bikes and cycling, but with the renovation of what’s now the clubhouse, they created a space for more than just riding. Now songo.info is more like a home. The kids can come and eat lunch, do their homework and receive extra tutoring on the subjects they’re struggling with at school.”
“During the day we see a lot of kids standing at the fence around the songo.info clubhouse,” Nonkasa added. “It’s such a pity that we cannot accommodate more children in the songo.info programme, as they don’t have much to do. Here where we grew up, in Kayamandi, it’s very difficult. There’s a lot of gangsterism, a lot of drug abuse, a lot of alcohol abuse. Being part of the songo.info programme helped me stay away from those negative influences,” Ngxakeni explained.
Nonkasa and Ngxakeni’s fundraising efforts are being supported by two of the Absa Cape Epic’s most legendary names, Christoph Sauser and Karl Platt. Both have won five editions of the race and were fierce rivals during their elite racing careers.
Now in their 40s, they are able to move beyond that rivalry and pair up in the NTT Masters’ category.
Mountain biking fans can follow the Absa Cape Epic from 20 to 27 March on the race’s social media handles and on the official live broadcast on www.cape-epic.com.
For in-depth updates on the progress of the songo.info teams like the songo.info Facebook page, or follow @songoinfo on Twitter and @songoinfo on Instagram. Donation to the charity can be made on the www.songo.info website or via GivenGain.
